Trapped
by Amelia Friend
Summary: The boulder didn't trap David. It caught someone else instead. Based on series 26, episode 30 - 'When The Gloves Come Off'. Sam/Dylan.
1. It Began So Well

It was a Wednesday lunchtime in Holby City ED, which meant relatively few casualties usually, and the few that they did have were fairly simple.  
Basically, it was just an ordinary day.

Mid-way through her twelve hour shift, Sam Nicholls headed to the CDU desk after helping Zoe with a man who had dislocated his shoulder.  
Watching Dylan out of the corner of her eye, she silently mused her marriage, or what was left of it anyway.  
Broken out of her silent reverie by a sharp ringing, she answered the red telephone seconds before her husb... Dylan.  
The spoken instructions were simple enough, they needed a Doctor as soon as possible for a cave rescue, with two casualties.  
Agreeing almost before she knew what she was saying, she hung up on the caller, and went to get changed into the green uniform, only waving the small post-it note on which she had written what she had been told at Dylan, when he asked me if she was going anywhere interesting - a move Sam knew with certainty would annoy him.

Arriving at the scene in the middle of the woods, Sam wasn't sure what she had expected, but it hadn't been a large group of people doing nothing, whilst Jeff was very nearly yelling at who appeared to be the Lead Fireman, and two dogs ran in crazy circles around everyone.  
Coming to the correct conclusion that the Lead Fireman wasn't allowing Jeff to retrieve his patients as he was not qualified for that sort of Rescue, Sam soon made herself known.  
"I was trained in line rescue in the army," Sam remarked, not even introducing herself first.  
The Fireman turned around, "Have you ever actually rescued anyone?" It was a valid point from the man clearly in charge, and one that he was obligated to ask, but it did not stop the twinge of annoyance Sam felt deep in her gut.  
"Yes." Sam answered firmly, she had rescued people before, even if was only once or twice. Noticing she was expected to say more, she quickly expanded upon her answer. "I'll go down, assess and stabilise the casualties and we'll wait for cave rescue to get here." Feeling slightly annoyed at his lack of faith in her abilities, though in her head she knew his lack of faith was not unfounded as he had never met her before, she did not stop there. "And when they do, we'll give you a rescue that'll have your Health and Safety forms crackling."  
Fortunately for Sam, the man either did not notice, or ignored, the slight jab from the female doctor, and allowed her down the hole, though she had to go alone, despite offers of help from both Jeff and the younger Fireman named Tommy.

Finally strapped into the abseiling gear, ready to head into hole, the dark hole, the full consequences of what she was about to do almost overwhelmed her, and Sam closed her eyes momentarily as her blood rushed through her ears, making it nearly impossible to hear. Realising that Jeff had been talking to her, she nodded in the affirmative, despite not knowing what he had just said.  
It took less than two minutes for Sam to get from the cave entrance to the two casualties situated at the bottom of the cave - two minutes from having to be strong in front of colleagues to having to be strong in front of casualties.  
Plenty of time to have a minor panic attack.

Sam's eyes darted around as she lowered herself slowly, every tiny movement magnified a thousand times, the all encompassing darkness attempting to crush the air from her body - the fear ... the terror ... of the slowly suffocating dark bubbling under the surface continuously.  
When only a metre or two above the two casualties, Sam heard them joking slightly - something about Superman at the male's expense, though what exactly Sam could not quite make out.

Now almost at the floor, Sam called to the two adults, "Hi, I'm Sam, I'll be your Doctor for today." Acting no different to how she normally did with patients, acting as if she dealt with this sort of thing every other day, appeared to put the two of them at ease, and Sam continued. "How are you all doing down here?"

It was the man who answered, as Sam struggled slightly with letting herself loose from the ropes. "We're still alive," was his short answer, and although it wasn't that funny, the woman laughed slightly before wincing and coughing as the sudden laughing hurt her insides further.

Sam too smiled at the comment, "Well, that's a start," she told the man who appeared at first glance to be the less injured of the two, if his more mobile state, and her leg bent at an odd angle was any indication. "Can you tell me your names?" It was always polite to know who you were treating, and judging by the argument at the top of the cave, Cave Rescue was still a long way off.

"I'm David, and this is Amanda," the man Sam now knew was called David told her, and the woman, Amanda, smiled slightly at Sam to convey that it was indeed the truth.

A light, yet steady, rock fall began coming down the main shaft of the cave, and Sam moved to the side beside Amanda and David as fast as she could to prevent being hit with most of the debris.

Immediately falling into 'Doctor-mode', she began assessing Amanda, and Sam's first thoughts about her were right, she was the more seriously injured of the two, with possible spinal injuries, internal bleeding, and a leg that was almost certainly broken.

David winced in obvious discomfort, no matter how futilely he tried to hide it, and Sam promised the dark-haired man that she would give him some morphine for his pain in just a moment.  
Recognising the need for both her patients to stay aware and conscious, even though awareness was dependent upon consciousness, Sam instructed David to talk to Amanda whilst she continued to assess her, as the rubble continued to fall millimetres from their backs, hitting them on more than one occasion. Though the man was clearly nervous around Amanda, Sam could easily tell he honestly cared about what she thought, and wanted to get to know her properly.

Finishing her initial assessment of Amanda, Sam listened with only half an ear to their conversation about personal preferences of French films, which were sometimes shown at their local cinema.  
Needing more supplies, Sam left Amanda for a moment instructing David not to stop talking to her, and as Amanda fell into yet another coughing fit that obviously pained both her, David lay down beside the woman who half an hour earlier, he had been too nervous to talk to, and held her hand, all the while speaking in reassuring tones that everything was going to turn out okay.  
Looking up, Sam hid a slight smile when they were both trying to figure if the other was in a relationship, without being overly obvious about it.

Without warning, the previously light, but steady, rock fall became heavier suddenly, most likely due to someone up top moving around too much, and Sam quickly escaped to the side of the cave floor - opposite to David and Amanda.  
Still laying side-by-side, David attempted to shield the still-immobile Amanda, but the sheer force of the continuous rock fall forced them both under a rock shelf.  
Their backs to the main cave, neither David nor Amanda saw the giant boulder that fell with the rest of the rubble, but they heard the crash when it collided with the ground, crushing a large portion of the medical equipment that Sam had brought down, and so screamed all the same.

Sam, on the other hand, saw the entire thing - the boulder falling, the boulder crashing, and the boulder moving again, until it came to its final stop.  
Right across her abdomen.

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**This is how I wanted yesterday's (7th April 2012) episode to go - I just think it would have been a lot more dramatic had Sam been the one to get trapped.**

**Please review,  
Mia**


	2. And In Comes Dylan

**Another chapter already? I think this is some sort of record of mine!**  
**Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited, or put on alert.**

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_Sam, on the other hand, saw the entire thing - the boulder falling, the boulder crashing, and the boulder moving again, until it came to its final stop.  
Right across her abdomen._

* * *

Silence reigned, and nobody moved, in the small cave as the rock fall lessened, until finally it was just a slight shower of dust and small rubble once again.  
Still, no one moved.

Then, brushing the debris from as much of his clothes as possible, David stood up, trying not to jolt Amanda who still could not move, and climbed out from under the rock shelf.

"Dr Nicholls?" David called cautiously, he couldn't see well in the near-darkness of the cave, but he knew that the young doctor was not moving.  
He started to approach her, and his eyes widened when he saw the large boulder pinning her to the ground.  
Walking closer again, even slower this time, he opened his mouth to speak to her once more, when her radio crackled into life.

"Sam. Are you receiving, over?" It was a male voice, and slightly worried - David recognised it as one of the voices shouting down earlier.  
Guessing that she wouldn't be moving any time soon, David picked up the black box that had fallen out of her uniform during the rock fall and spoke into it.  
"A boulder just fell down, and it's trapping Dr Nicholls underneath," although he tried to hide it, clear worry crept into his voice.  
Looking at the previously immobile Dr Nicholls, David realised she was now awake, even if not yet completely aware. She gestured for the radio, and spoke into it firmly and clearly, "We're going to need another Doctor down here immediately."  
Sam heard Jeff sigh on the other end, "The fire brigade won't allow anyone down without experience in line rescue."  
Sam let out a groan that David assumed was probably equal parts pain and annoyance. "Well they're going to have to," she snapped - something she reasoned was made okay by the fact she was getting **crushed under a boulder  
**"Want me to try other hospitals?" Jeff asked her patiently, figuring it wouldn't be wise to aggravate her.  
Sam sighed in defeat, she really didn't want to do this - but it was the fastest to way to get her out. "It's too far." There was a slight pause. "I know another doctor at Holby who can abseil."

Nothing changed for close to fifteen minutes - David kept talking to Amanda to keep her awake, and Sam (unable to get any morphine, or any pain relief - she'd settle for even a paracetamol at this point) kept focused on breathing in and out and in ... anything to ignore the continuous thudding pain in her middle region.  
Then it suddenly darkened in the cave, and Sam's breathing increased, her mind spinning through what could have happened for it to go so dark so quickly - it was only when she realised that it was Dylan beginning the slow descent that her breathing became more normal.

The radio came to life once again, "Sam, are you receiving, over?" Jeff's voice. Sam was about to answer when he continued. "Dylan's on his way down with the air bag you wanted. We've found a possible alternative exit. We're checking it out now. Sit tight okay."  
Sam had to let out a wry chuckle at the last statement - where did he think she would be going.  
Again the only noise was that of David and Amanda's hushed conversation, and the steady rubble falling due to Dylan's moving.

Thirty seconds, he was halfway down the shaft, and he called to Sam - unable to see her in the darkness. All he had been told was that things had become complicated due to a boulder trapping one of them - and he wondered how it must have trapped one of the casualties for Sam to admit she needed help. More than that, he wondered how she had even headed down into the cave in the first place due to her terror of the dark.  
"Sam?" Came the first word, and he was slightly ashamed that the worry and confusion were clearly heard, to him anyway.  
"Yes?" Was the reply, short but sounding perfectly normal, but there was something in it that he didn't quite understand.  
"You okay? Okay Sam?" He called again, for he had to know what was wrong. Trying to look down at his wi... Sam, his foot caught a clump of loose mud and rock, causing it to run down, hitting the three people below him.  
"Careful!" Replied Sam, almost shouting at him for his stupidity, but Dylan didn't miss the fact that she avoided answering his question, and her voice had tapered off slightly at the end - something Sam _never_ did.  
"Can you hear me?" he tried again, there was something seriously wrong - he just didn't know what. A fact all the more cemented in his mind when she did not even answer his question.

It was another minute until Dylan was at the bottom of the cave, and his eyes adjusted enough to see in the near darkness, in which time a number of scenarios, each more improbable than the last, made their way through his mind.  
Nothing could have prepared him for what it was, for he had not even thought that it could have been _Sam_ who had been trapped by the boulder - her face was screwed up in severe pain and she was on the verge on unconsciousness.

Immediately beginning his assessment of her - seeing that Amanda had already been assessed and given plenty of morphine to dull the pain, of which Sam had been given neither.  
Giving Sam enough morphine to dull the pain for at least an hour, he started to talk to her, if only to keep her awake - he was more than happy to sit in silence.  
"You okay?" he asked her, it was as good a start as any other.  
Sam eyes opened, and flashed with annoyance before gesturing with her arms to the giant rock. "What do you think Dylan?" Sarcasm was clear in her voice.  
"I meant before the rock," he retorted, annoyance in his every syllable.  
Her face guarded, she replied with distrust, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"  
He raised an eyebrow, "You were always a little scared of the dark," the slight emphasis on 'a little' angered Sam slightly - who was he to ...  
"I was never scared of being in the dark. I was only ever scared of being in the dark with _you_." It was a lie and they both knew it - Sam had been terrified of the dark for longer than she could remember, long before she met Dylan.

But surprisingly, Dylan did not call her on her lie, but instead changed the subject - most likely not wanting to annoy her overly whilst she was in her current state.  
"You might have told them I've only ever abseiled twice, and then it was for charity." But Dylan was not really all that upset - he didn't truly trust anyone else to treat Sam in this condition.  
She snorted at his statement. "So getting me into bed was a charity."  
"You two a couple?" asked Amanda, jolting Sam slightly who had forgotten David and Amanda were even there.  
"No." Dylan answered immediately, and firmly.  
Sam's answer was a bit delayed and spoken almost sadly. "No," she repeated.

Listening to the two original casualties talk about French films, Dylan raised an eyebrow, even though it was (for once) a subject that he had no experience about nor any wish to join in.  
He knew they were just trying to distract themselves from their situation, and for a moment wanted to do the same.  
"This rock is really planted across your abdomen," he muttered supposedly to Sam, but mostly to himself, his eyes flitted up to Sam's face once again.  
Though Sam lay still as Dylan completed his assessment, and both husband and wife remained silent, the lack of noise and movement did not stop the fleeting expressions that flickered across Dylan's face.  
Closing her eyes against the pain, Sam broke the lingering silence between the two. "That bad Dylan?" she remarked wryly, opening her eyes to watch his face.  
"No," came his short answer - too soon, too fast - and his face tightened minutely once again.  
Not wanting to argue, despite knowing he was lying through his teeth to her, Sam rested her head against the floor - concentrating on numbing the pain.  
Who knew boulders could be so heavy?

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**Thank you for reading, and please review,**  
**Mia**


	3. Asessments and Arguments

**Thank you so much everyone for all the reviews, favourites, and alerts. I love that people actually read this story.**

**I'm so sorry that this chapter isn't very long.**

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_"That bad Dylan?" she remarked wryly, opening her eyes to watch his face.  
"No," came his short answer - too soon, too fast - and his face tightened minutely once again.  
Not wanting to argue, despite knowing he was lying through his teeth to her, Sam rested her head against the floor - concentrating on numbing the pain.  
Who knew boulders could be so heavy?_

* * *

Not wanting to risk Sam's life unnecessarily, especially whilst there was no way to lift her out of the cave, Dylan made the decision not to move the boulder - for there was no need for her to move just yet.

Settling for simply talking to Sam, he sat down beside her on the rocky floor. "From the way the rock is settling on your upper abdomen and lower chest, my best guess is that it is some sort of traumatic hepatic disruption." He looked down at the silent woman with closed eyes, who had not moved in almost five minutes, and his chest tightened involuntarily with worry - though he would never admit it to anyone, he still cared ... still loved his Samantha, even after everything that had happened. "This rock could be stopping a catastrophic internal bleeding."

Sam still made no response, nor did she move, "Do you agree Sam?"

The blonde woman opened her eyes, and with great effort through great pain, nodded her head.

"Morphine should be kicking in now." Dylan told her, his hands forced to stay by his side, despite everything. There was another pause, though not the comfortable, familiar silence of their marriage - this was an awkward silence, one that Dylan knew he had to break one way or another.

"You okay Sam?" he asked, mentally bashing his head against a rock over and over again at the sheer _uselessness_ of his statement.

It did however, pry a response from her, even if that response was only to partially open one of her eyes and effectively glare at him. Dylan sighed, it was not fun having a one sided conversation - there should be two sides, or no sides at all.

Rocks continued to shower from above, hitting off of Dylan's back, frustrating him, though he attempted to hide it.

Talking to Sam, and himself, he spoke quietly. "I didn't learn to abseil just to get you into bed."

"Really?" Her voice was quiet, but the sarcasm was as clear and present as ever - a defence mechanism to block out the pain. "What was the charity again?"

For once Dylan did not deign Sam's retort with a reply, instead he picked up Sam's radio, and headed to the rock shelf - distracting himself from Sam by staying with David and Amanda

"No, Dylan. Tell me, what was the charity again?" Sam wasn't going to let him let this go though, he had gotten her worked up, and she wasn't going to stop until she had an answer, one way or another.

Dylan turned back to Sam and opened his mouth to begin a remark he would almost certainly later regret.

Sensing a major argument between the two doctors that _claimed _they were not in a relationship, something that would not be good for either him or Amanda, David made his way over to Dylan.

"Anything I can do Doctor?" he asked specifically referring to one of them, and both of them at the same time - all the while hoping not to get yelled at by either of the irate Doctors.

Turning away from Sam, Dylan picked up a handful of glow sticks that would turn green when broken, and effectively threw them at the unfortunate man who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dylan then grabbed the radio and pressed the button on the side angrily, taking his frustration out on the inanimate object.

"How long until Cave Rescue arrives," his voice almost unnoticeably thick with an unidentified emotion.

"It'll be another hour at least." Jeff's voice came back, tinny through the radio.

"It'll be dark by then Dylan" Sam inputted, not liking to be left out of anything - particularly when it came to decisions that should directly involve her.

Dylan refrained from rolling his eyes at Sam's predictable answer, and instead spoke to Jeff in a scarily calm manner. "We have three casualties down here, two of them seriously ill. I don't think we have an hour, over."

"We're doing the best we can Dylan," returned the much more sensible voice of Jeff, a voice which (in the last few seconds) Dylan had come to loathe with a passion.

Not quite sure what he was angry at, Dylan threw the radio at the opposite wall of the cave where it shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Because that's _really_ mature Dylan. So sensible!" The sarcasm in Sam's voice wasn't masked, nor was her annoyance with him.

With no reply that would not simply make him sound like more of a child, Dylan stalked away from the woman he still secretly loved, and settled uncomfortably at the other side of the cave.

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**Thank you for reading, and please review,  
****Mia.**


	4. Secretly Loving You

**Hopefully this make s up for last time's shorter chapter - over 2,000 words long - my longest chapter ever.  
****Thanks again to everyone who has read this story, and special thanks to those who have alerted, favourited or reviewed.  
****Please enjoy!**

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_Not quite sure what he was angry at, Dylan threw the radio at the opposite wall of the cave where it shattered into a thousand pieces.  
__"Because that's _really _mature Dylan. So sensible!" The sarcasm in Sam's voice wasn't masked, nor was her annoyance with him.  
__With no reply that would not simply make him sound like more of a child, Dylan stalked away from the woman he still secretly loved, and settled uncomfortably at the other side of the cave._

* * *

With Sam and Dylan actively ignoring each other know, it was down to the unfortunate David to keep the conversation going - not giving up the task that Sam had given him almost two hours ago of making sure that Amanda stayed awake, and by extension Sam, as she was now more injured than Amanda had been at any point of this stupid accident.

With Amanda drifting in and out of consciousness so much, there was not much he could do other than watch Dylan check her regularly to make sure she wasn't having any troubles, he focused his attention on keeping the two doctors at least semi social-able, and not wanting to incite another argument, he chose a topic that neither could have overly strong feelings about. Or at least he hoped so.

"Is Amanda going to be okay?" David asked Dylan, knowing that the male doctor was the one who actually knew what was happening to Amanda, no matter how good a doctor you are - there is very little treatment you can perform while trapped under a rock yourself.

"As long as she gets to hospital soon, otherwise..." his voice trailed off, unwilling to say the words, but David knew what he was going to say - truthfully he had known it since they first fell (or in his case, was pulled) down into this godforsaken _hole_.

"I was gonna ask her out. You know, on a date," David continued, not allowing himself to outwardly acknowledge the doctor's words. He laughed slightly with self regret. "I chickened out, afraid she would say no, or laugh." With a uneasy smile, David turned to look at the blood-stained woman once more.

"I knew this bloke once," Sam's voice was hoarse, and it made Dylan's insides freeze both from the unfamiliar tone of the previously familiar voice, and from fear of what she was going to say. He was saddened to hear his fears not at all unfounded. "His marriage was dying in his boots ... and he just hid in a bottle. That's cowardice." Sam avoided Dylan's gaze, as she regretted the words instantly, but there was no way to take them back - at least without herself making herself look like an idiot. She didn't know why she felt the need to put him down after everything he had done for her, but it was just a protective measure - she was pushing him away, shutting him out, so that when he decided he did not want to even be _technically_ married to her any more, it wouldn't hurt as much. Of course it would still hurt, she loved him more than anything else in the whole world, but she just _knew_ that he no longer felt that way about her, if he had ever done in the first place - sure he may have _cared_ for her, but Sam did not know if he had ever _loved_ anyone - Dr Dylan Keogh wasn't exactly known for his emotional capacity. "Not asking a girl out on a date," she snorted slightly to show that she found it (supposedly) amusing, "not even on the scale."

For once glad of the near-darkness, Sam turned away from Dylan and David as much as she could, and tried to hide her reddening face, she wanted to apologise to Dylan, '_I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I still love you._' But she couldn't. And that was cowardice enough for Sam.

But Dylan did not Sam already knew he would do, and retorted in anger. "I agree," he hissed, almost in her ear, though loud enough for David to hear every word he said. "I knew a woman who cheated on her husband and tried to convince him in all sincerity it was an attempt to save their marriage." Dylan was screaming at himself to stop from the inside, why was he doing this to Sam, he didn't care all that much that she had obviously moved on, why did he torture himself by reminding himself that the only woman he would ever love, had left him. But he couldn't stop the torrent of words that flowed involuntarily from his mouth. "She couldn't even tell him it was over, she had to force it on him. I think _that's_ cowardice." _No,_ he yelled internally, _cowardice is not telling her I still love her. I'm cowardice._ But it was too late, the words already said.

"Is that really what you think?" Sam couldn't believe his cheek - he was trying to blame it all on her, to be fair she had just done almost the same to him, but ... she couldn't justify her thoughts so simply stopped them and continued speaking in the same indignant tone. "That you're innocent, and I'm the one who crushed you?" Sam's words rolled up into an accusation, daring him to retaliate, to hurt each other even further - to elongate that spiral of self-destruction that had become entangled in.

"Wow," remarked David, looking at the (kind-of) couple whose noses were almost touching in their outward anger with each other. "You know, I am kind of pleased about the fact I'm single now," he told them, trying to (once again) do what he had already done almost more times than he could count - diffuse the situation between the two doctors, who had once again, forgotten they were not alone down this cave, and that trapped in the dark with two injured strangers wasn't the best place the air all of their disputes.

Seeing sense in David's attempt to prevent a full on yelling match, Sam closed her eyes and immediately screwed her face up in pain - the almost yelling match had been good for one thing, it had distracted her from her situation, a situation that was growing ever more painful by the second.

Dylan left Sam's side once again, the words 'human yo-yo' echoing around his brain, he always ended up back with her, even after everything - Afghanistan and all.

Listening to Amanda's heartbeat, he shared a glance with Sam - this one purely medical and filled with apprehension for his patient.

Heading back to Sam, he could hear David distracting Amanda with a promise of a trip to Paris, and the chance to break some sort of record in the Louvre as soon as they were both out of the hospital (a fact that relies heavily on both of them getting out of this cave alive, Dylan thought to himself), he wasn't paying _that _much attention to their conversation.

"I'm getting reduced breath sounds in one of her lungs, I have to..." Dylan began to tell Sam.

"Put a chest drain in now," Sam completed, knowing what it was that Dylan had to do - though not sure why he had to tell her, it gave her a good feeling inside anyway.

The procedure was trickier, and much more high risk, than it would have been had it been done in a hospital, due to the position that Amanda had ended up in during the rock fall (a position Dylan did not dare move her out of on his own), more basic medical equipment, and lack of cleanliness - but Dylan got the chest drain in easily enough, buying the now fully unconscious woman another half an hour or so more of life, but she needed to get to the hospital, and fast. She was growing weaker with each passing second.

Dylan arrived back at Sam's side just in time to see her face screw up in equal parts pain and fear - the dark was terrifying Sam, even more so due to the boulder, and though the glow sticks may have lit the cave up slightly, the green light only made it creepier.

Reading Sam's face perfectly, he gave her more morphine, despite her trying to convince him that she did not need it. Her face had always been open to him.

Settling into a comfortable silence, Sam closed her eyes and relished in the temporary pain relief.

So it was somewhat of a surprise when Dylan spoke. "Was he worth it Sam?" His voice cut through the near dark like a knife, and Sam knew exactly what he was talking about - she could always read him as well as he could read her.

Her eyes snapped open with anger, his accusation had had the intended response of keeping her aware despite the morphine. "Do you even think it was about him," she hissed, really not wanting to discuss _this_ of all things right now, whilst trapped (or rather crushed) underneath a rather large and rather heavy boulder. "Look, I was miserable, we both were in some respect, but I never wanted you to end it. I wanted you to fight for it." Her voice lowered to a whisper, both from emotion, and from the pain that such a strong emotion brought to her fragile body. "I wanted you to fight for me."

You could hear a pin drop in the tense silence that followed Sam's passion filled statement and none wished to break it.

But all things must come to an end, and the silence was broken by a voice none expected, emanating from the device Dylan was sure he had destroyed. He let out a groan.

He had forgotten there was a _second_, his, radio when he shattered Sam's.

"Dylan, are you there, over." Just refraining himself from shattering this radio as well, he answered Jeff as politely as he could.

"I'm here, over."

"What happened to Sam's radio? We tried calling it,but couldn't get through."

Dylan looked at the offending pile of shards of plastic and broken electronics. "It ... broke," he finished lamely, once again wanting to smash his head against the cave wall.

"Well, Cave Rescue have finally arrived, but they're going to take a little while to set up." Jeff decided not to push Dylan's statement, despite knowing it, though not false, almost certainly _not_ the whole truth.

"Copy that Jeff." Dylan finished, before placing the radio gently on the floor - it was the final link to the 'outside world' and it wouldn't do anyone much good to smash it as well.

It didn't stop him from throwing a handful of small pebbles at the opposite wall though, an action that did nothing to alleviate his anger.

Sat down beside Sam, he noted that she had slipped into unconsciousness, something that both concerned and relieved him - whilst he was glad she was getting respite from the pain, he had never seen her unconsciousness before, it just wasn't _Sam_.

Add that to the fact her breathing was off, and her pulse was all over the place, not to mention the fact that Dylan had neither the equipment nor the time to properly deal with her, one thought stuck at the forefront of his mind.

She didn't have 'a little while', he just didn't want to admit it to himself yet.

She had less than half an hour to get out, or she wouldn't be getting out at all.

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**Thank you for reading, and please review,  
Mia.**


	5. Sweet Escape

**This chapter is dedicated to my friend Polly, for listening to me obsess about this show at all times of day and night.  
****Thanks to everyone who has read, or is reading, this story.**

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_Her breathing was off, and her pulse was all over the place, not to mention the fact that Dylan had neither the equipment nor the time to properly deal with her, one thought stuck at the forefront of his mind.  
__She didn't have 'a little while', he just didn't want to admit it to himself yet.  
__She had less than half an hour to get out, or she wouldn't be getting out at all._

* * *

Looking between the two unconsciousness women, David turned to a once more silent Dylan and asked the question that had been prying on his mind since Sam had gotten hurt, although more dominantly since they had been notified of Cave Rescues arrival. "Which of them goes up first?"

Dylan glanced at Sam, and then at Amanda, both of them seriously ill - but though his heart was begging him to send Sam up first, to give her the best chance of survival, Amanda was in the worse condition, and his head was telling him that _she_ had to go up first.

Head.  
Heart.  
Heart.  
Head.  
...Head.

"Amanda." Was his short reply, he wouldn't say anything else, for fear of trying to convince the poor man to let Sam up first. Dylan knew Sam would make the same choice, even unconscious he knew her thoughts.

Checking the vitals of both women, Dylan settled next to Sam, whilst David held Amanda's hand loosely - rocks fell near continuously from the movement on the surface, Cave Rescue were nearly ready to come down after long last.

"You have to go up with Amanda, David. There's an ambulance waiting to take you both to Holby City ED. I need to stay with Sam." Dylan's voice was faint- he had never felt as weak as he did now, unable to do anything else to help.

From the corner of his eye, he saw David nod with understanding - the Doctor had to stay with the patient, and he would only be on his own with Amanda for a matter of minutes, if not seconds, nothing altogether too bad could happen in that short a space of time.

As the Rescue worker made his way down the cave as carefully as he could, it didn't stop the near avalanche of small stones and rubble that fell on the two males sat unmoving by the women they were subconsciously protecting.

Finally at the bottom of the cave, the Rescue worker and Dylan sprung into action, pulling a now screaming Amanda out from under the rock shelf and strapping her down onto the stretcher, to prevent further injury.

David was attached to the side of her stretcher, and he couldn't completely mask the look of relief that flooded his face as he began to rise from the ground up to the surface.

As Amanda and David were unclipped from the top of the pulley system, Dylan saw Sam's eyes flicker open slightly, she was awake once again.

With no other way to help her whilst the Cave Rescue worker finally began his own assessment of Sam, Dylan simply held the delirious woman's hand until the stretcher made it back down to the cave floor.

Then came the procedure Dylan wished he could put off forever - the removal of the boulder - with a huge amount of pushing and pulling on the behalves of Dylan and the Rescue worker, whilst Sam lay as still as she could, though it did nothing to stop the tears streaming down her face.

She was as far from the confident woman who entered the cave two hours ago as it was possible to be.

Then the boulder shifted slightly before moving off of Sam completely, and she immediately paled, losing blood from her stomach faster than she was getting it from the bags were refilling her body.

Her eyes took on a slightly glazed look as he helped her onto the thick plastic stretcher, ready to leave the dark dingy hole.

It was slow work winching both himself and Sam up, the Rescue worker following soon after. He saw Jeff first, a face he would have never guessed he'd be glad to see.

Sam was quickly whisked away from him in a cacophony of noise.

"Careful with her," came from Jeff, always looking out for Sam.

"Alright easy boys. Easy does it - she's losing blood." A fireman, the man in charge, whose name Dylan hadn't bothered to learn.

Dylan just stood there in a state of mute shock, everything happening at once while nothing happened at all.

"Are you okay? Dylan?" The voice faded into his subconscious as he pulled his eyes away from Sam, lying unconscious once more strapped to that orange plastic board.

He didn't, couldn't, reply verbally - not while Sam was just there, dying in front of him.

He heard the same man ask the Rescue worker if anyone else was still down in the cave, but the rest of the world was shut out as he saw that annoying, obnoxious fireman begin heart compressions on his beautiful, (if not always) sweet Samantha.

Not even noticing that he was almost running to her side and pushing the fireman away from her still body, one thought echoed in his head.

She can't die. Not like this. Not now.

* * *

**Please review so I can get up to 27 reviews - then I'll have more on this one story than all my other stories put together - only 4 more reviews!  
****Thank you for reading,  
****Mia.**


	6. A New Angel

**Another Update Already? Just one more chapter to go (technically) and this will be my first completed multi-chaptered story.  
Now, I couldn't decide whether Sam should live or die - she's my favourite character so I didn't want her to die, but writing Dylan after Sam's death was just too tempting.  
So I decided to do both - in this chapter Sam will either live or die, and in the next chapter, starting from the same place as this one she will do the opposite - therefore read whichever ending you like - I should have the last chapter up tomorrow - hopefully before the next episode of Casualty.  
And I've got 30 reviews! Yay!  
**

* * *

_The rest of the world was shut out as he saw that annoying, obnoxious fireman begin heart compressions on his beautiful, (if not always) sweet Samantha.  
__Not even noticing that he was almost running to her side and pushing the fireman away from her still body, one thought echoed in his head.  
__She can't die. Not like this. Not now._

* * *

Dylan didn't even realise when the second ambulance turning up, and barely blinked when his Sam was lifted up and carried into the back of it - he never stopped his compressions.  
He was going to keep her alive, even if it killed him.  
Dylan made a promise to himself - as soon as this was all over, as soon as the _nightmare_ was finished, he'd tell her exactly how he felt.  
Maybe they could even start over.  
Or at least be friends again, instead of avoiding the other like the bubonic plague.

Sam's eyes fluttered, then opened, to find Dylan looking directly at her - she was only half aware of aching pain all over her body, but she was aware enough.  
"Am I dying?" she asked, in such a small and terrified voice that it made Dylan think of a seven year old Sam, most likely tormenting her parents.  
"No." He answered shortly, the way he always did. "I promise you will not die."  
Sam laughed slightly, despite the pain it caused. "Don't make promises you can't keep Dylan. I thought you had learnt that lesson."  
"This one I will keep. I will Sam."  
Sam's eyes drifted shut, and Dylan shook her shoulder slightly to keep her awake.  
Opening her eyes slightly, she took a chance, and told him what she had to say. "I love you." She whispered, and Dylan stared at her. "I never stopped loving you." Her eyes unfocused once more. "I'm sleepy now Dylan. I'm going to sleep."  
"No, Sam..." Dylan's warning was too late as Sam's eyes rolled into the back of her head.  
Taking her pulse, he began compressions once again, almost before Jeff told him to start.

Counting the compressions, he had almost finished the second lot of thirty before Jeff spoke again.  
"Abdomen is rock hard." The voice was measured, with an undercurrent of something far stronger just below the surface.  
Dylan ignored the words and kept on with compressions, until Jeff spoke again.  
"Dylan ... you have to stop now. She's dead." He told the doctor, who was now just staring at Sam, as her oxygen mask was taken away.  
She was dead.  
He closed his eyes, and hit his fist, hard, against her metal resting place.  
Leaning in close so that the paramedic would not be able to see or hear, even had he been trying, Dylan whispered in Sam's still warm ear.  
"I never stopped loving you either." The words came too late to help her, but maybe, they would help him.  
He pressed a kiss to her blood stained forehead.  
And leaning back in his chair, he never once let go of her hand.  
He may have broken his final promise to her, but he wouldn't let her face the darkness alone.

It was 94 seconds of stillness later that they arrived at the Holby ED, the sirens still going loud and strong.  
Had it really been less than three hours ago since they were here, broken beyond repair perhaps, but still _here_.  
Had it really been less than three hours ago, that Sam had been so annoyed and happy and confused and Sam and not dead.

Three minutes after the ambulance turned up, no one had moved - no one had been able to, and Zoe stormed out to the car park to see what was taking so long.  
Expecting to see Dylan and Sam arguing, and wanting an answer as to why neither of them were with the casualties, she opened the door.  
Them yelling at each other, she could handle.  
Them ignoring each other, she could handle.  
Them _kissing _each other, she could handle.  
But not this.  
Sam caught her eye first, lying perfectly still on the bed, covered in both fresh and dried blood - she managed to look almost ... peaceful, with a half smile etched onto her face.  
Then Zoe's breath hitched in her throat as she took in the fact that Sam's chest was no longer rising nor falling, and Dylan ... Dylan just looked ... broken.

Hunched over in the hard plastic chair in the back of the ambulance, shoulders heaving, Zoe knew that the doctor was crying - expressing more emotion than he had ever before, even more than when he had almost died.  
But this wasn't an almost.  
And this was _Sam_.  
She supposed to be invincible, invulnerable.  
It wasn't supposed to end like this.

It was another twenty minutes before anyone came looking for them; Lloyd, Scarlett and Mr Jordan - a stranger bunch there has never been.  
It was a hard job getting them away from the ambulance, and Sam...  
Scarlett led Zoe (who was still in mute shock) away, as Dixie arrived for Jeff.  
All four would suffer from nightmares in the weeks to come.  
The ambulance driver left of his own accord about the same time - he had not known Sam as well as the others, but he still felt her loss.  
That left Lloyd and Mr Jordan to get Dylan away from Sam - a near impossible feat as he had still not let go of her hand.

But eventually Mr Jordan convinced the doctor with red-rimmed eyes to leave Sam, and come into the hospital, leading him past the curious nurses and doctors who stared at the usually stoic doctor in shock, wondering what could have happened in the matter of hours he had been gone, and into the strangely empty Staff Room.  
The lack of presence of one Dr Nicholls only added fuel to the rumour mill.

In reality, the unfortunate doctor had been moved directly down to the morgue without passing through the ED, to give her that final piece of peace.

And Dylan knew it.  
He knew he was never going to see his Samantha again.  
Never going to see her smile or laugh or scold or glare.  
Never going to see her eyes light up in glee, or her mouth turn down in disapproval.  
Never going to see her again.

He locked the staff room door from the inside, the second Mr Jordan left, wanting to stay alone that little while longer.  
From outside the staff room, those gathered could hear first a single object smashing, followed by a barrage of similar objects thrown about the small room that none dared to enter.  
Then the noise lowered again, and the now somewhat recovered Zoe was soon volunteered by the others to check on the distraught doctor, through the second door - the one he did not bother to lock.  
Avoiding the piles of glass clustered by the walls and cupboards, Zoe found Dylan with his eyes closed, and his head lent back against the wall. His hands were bloody from the broken shards of glass and crockery he had destroyed in his anger, and needed medical attention, as did the rest of his cuts and scrapes - the ones he had sustained down in the cave.

Gently reaching down to look at his hands, he pulled them sharply away from her - suddenly opening his eyes and staring at her in mute distrust.  
"Dylan, you've got to let me look at your hands." She told him, trying to look at his hands again He pulled them away from her once more. "Dylan, Sam would want..."  
She never got to finish her statement as Dylan stood up, a look of anger prominent on his face.  
"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT SAM! SHE'S DEAD!" A look of disbelief flew across his face as it finally settled in.

On the other side of the door, those gathered pulled back instantly in shock as the rumours were killed instantly, and silence prevailed.  
They prayed to whatever they believed in that it was not true.  
Sam had helped them all, known them all, in some small way.  
But Dylan wouldn't lie about something like this.  
They wondered how it had happened.  
How the fierce army doctor had been defeated.

Sighing, and holding his hands out for Zoe to patch up he simply uttered the same phrase over and over again. "She's dead. She's dead..." Tears fell down his face, slowly at first.  
They said the nightmare was over, but in reality, it was only just beginning.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, and please review,**  
**Mia.**


	7. A New Start

**This is the final chapter - and my first _ever_ completed multi-chapter fanfiction.  
Also, I reached a boundry point of 10,000 words - I'm so happy!  
Thank you for reading.  
****I wanted it up before Episode 31 was aired, but alas, it was not meant to be - never mind.  
This is the ending where Sam lives! (The ending where she died was much more fun to write though!)**

* * *

_The rest of the world was shut out as he saw that annoying, obnoxious fireman begin heart compressions on his beautiful, (if not always) sweet Samantha.  
Not even noticing that he was almost running to her side and pushing the fireman away from her still body, one thought echoed in his head.  
She can't die. Not like this. Not now._

* * *

Dylan didn't even realise when the second ambulance turning up, and barely blinked when his Sam was lifted up and carried into the back of it - he never stopped his compressions.  
He was going to keep her alive, even if it killed him.  
Dylan made a promise to himself - as soon as this was all over, as soon as the _nightmare_ was finished, he'd tell her exactly how he felt.  
Maybe they could even start over.  
Or at least be friends again, instead of avoiding the other like the bubonic plague.

Sam's eyes fluttered, then opened, to find Dylan looking directly at her - she was only half aware of aching pain all over her body, but she was aware enough.  
"Am I dying?" she asked, in such a small and terrified voice that it made Dylan think of a seven year old Sam, most likely tormenting her parents.  
"No." He answered shortly, the way he always did. "I promise you will not die."  
Sam laughed slightly, despite the pain it caused. "Don't make promises you can't keep Dylan. I thought you had learnt that lesson."  
"This one I will keep. I will Sam."  
Sam's eyes drifted shut, and Dylan shook her shoulder slightly to keep her awake.  
Opening her eyes slightly, she took a chance, and told him what she had to say. "I love you." She whispered, and Dylan stared at her. "I never stopped loving you." Her eyes unfocused once more. "I'm sleepy now Dylan. I'm going to sleep."  
"No, Sam..." Dylan's warning was too late as Sam's eyes rolled into the back of her head.  
Taking her pulse, he began compressions once again, almost before Jeff told him to start.

Counting each compression aloud, he was on his fifth set of thirty when they pulled up at the ED.  
The ambulance doors were quickly thrown open by Jeff, as Dylan quickly whispered in his wife's ear. "I never stopped loving you either."  
Pressing a quick kiss on her now restless forehead, he helped Jeff pull her out of the ambulance and into the busy ED - Dylan just walked by her side as he listened to Jeff tell the doctors and nurses on duty what had happened - or as much of it as he knew anyway.

Following Sam into Resus, but staying at the back out of the way, Dylan knew he looked terrible - covered in dust, and dirt, and blood, not all of it belonging to someone else.

Watching Sam from a distance, he couldn't feel anything, he didn't know anything - he felt helpless, and unable to help his wife, his love.  
He felt unable to do anything but watch.

Until her heart stopped beating once again, and Dylan felt his stop at the same time - he couldn't lose her, he _wouldn't_ lose her, not here, not now.  
He had only taken one step forward - face blank - when he felt someone grabbing his arm and leading him out of the room.  
Zoe's mouth was opening and closing from besides Sam's bed, but no noise was coming out - none that he could hear anyway.

He saw them shock her from the other side of the glass - one - two - three times.  
And then her heart started again, and it would be okay, and she would live - and everything would work out in the end.  
Sometimes, everyone lives.

Led to the showers by a nurse who only meant well, and probably wanted him to stop scaring the small children in the ED, he washed as quickly as he could, removing the blood and grime that had accumulated over the last - had it really been less than three hours - it felt much longer than that.  
Checking himself over, he was utterly amazed in the way that he had escaped with only minor abrasions, but that Sam would be needing major surgery.

They (the rest of the hospital staff) had arranged for someone to take over the rest of his shift, due to the 'traumatic circumstances'.  
Dylan would have minded working, even if only to keep his mind off of Sam, but he wasn't going to complain.  
The waiting was the worst, sat in the dingy relatives room, that somehow felt smaller than the cave, and twice as stuffy - he rested his eyes, relieving the worst times over and over again.  
The times he thought he was going to lose his Samantha.  
And the times he realised how much she meant to him.

Two hours later, Dylan was led into the small cubicle by the nurse, the one whose name he never bothered to learn, and he checked quickly to ensure he was alone, before approaching her bedside.  
Her eyes were lightly shut, blonde hair spread over the pillows and blood still slightly stained across her face, but someone had obviously tried to make her more presentable.  
It didn't matter how much he had thought about it before, it was only in that moment, with her in front of him, Dylan finally acknowledged how close he had come to losing her - and how empty his life would be without her.  
Smoothing her hair back with his hand, her lips quirked upwards. "Hello Grumpy," she murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper.  
Dylan hid his look of surprised, "And how long have you been awake?"  
"Only a few minutes. Why?" Her face was suspicious as she tried to sit up but Dylan would not let her - not just yet anyway.  
Dylan just shook his head. "What's going to happen now?" He asked Sam, despite knowing perfectly what was to happen.  
"I've got to have some surgery to completely repair the damage - I'm due in theatre in a few hours." She rolled her eyes slightly, "And all I want right now is something to eat." Closing her eyes, she mentally steadied herself. "In the ambulance, I told you something." She looked up at him, and saw ... something ... that made her keep going. "I meant it."  
Dylan smiled that strange half smile of his, a rarity even for Sam. "I know. I meant it too."

And then they kissed, properly, in the way they hadn't since long before Sam left for Afghanistan - and they didn't stop until that nurse walked back in again and straight back out.  
And honestly, Dylan was impressed, he hadn't known it was possible for someone to turn that shade of red at all, let alone so quickly.

Sharing a _look _with Sam, he settled into the hospital chair next to her, refusing to move until she was taken up for surgery.  
They weren't perfect, they never had been.  
But, then again, where was the fun in perfection?

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**I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, or story alert-ed (is that a word? No, I didn't think so either) this story, or even for just reading it.**

**Thank you for reading, and please, still review - I want to see if I can get 40 reviews for this story - it'll make me so happy!  
Mia.**


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